The Cranberries were the largest musical export from Ireland since U2. The band’s first two albums, which were released in the early 90’s, were massive sellers, but by the later part of the decade, the band was on the brink of collapse.
Cancelled tours and controversy led to the band falling apart almost a decade after taking over the world. The band re-emerged in 2009, until it all came crashing down almost a decade later, resulting in the end of one of the most successful alternative bands of the last 30 years.
“I have a lot of secrets about my childhood.” – Dolores O’Riordan
Despite growing up around a lot of family, darkness was present in Dolores O’Riordan’s childhood. She revealed years later that she had suffered trauma at the hands of an older man and witnessed her sister accidentally burning down her family’s home at age 7. She told Rolling Stone in 1995, “I have a lot of secrets about my childhood.”
At age 5, her nursery headmistress stood Dolores up on the piano and asked her to sing for the class. This continued well into her teenage years. After learning the piano, O’Riordan wrote her first song at age 12 called “Calling”. She became known as the girl in school “who wrote songs”.
Cranberry Saw Us Look for a Replacement Singer
In 1990, Dolores heard from a friend that a local band named Cranberry Saw Us was looking to replace their newly departed singer. O’Riordan and Cranberry Saw Us seemed like a match made in heaven.
O’Riordan wrote her own songs, had an incredible voice and Cranberry Saw Us wanted a female singer to fit their new shimmering dreamy sound. The band was made up of brothers Noel and Mike Hogan on guitar and bass and drummer Fergal Lawler.
O’Riordan lugged her keyboard across Limerick, at the age of 18, to the audition for the band, while wearing a pink tracksuit. Hogan recalled, “Dolores came and sang a few songs she had written. We were blown away that this small girl from Limerick had such an amazing voice. The fact that she wasn’t already in a band was a miracle.”
“It was easy for me because I knew, no matter what their first impression was, that the minute I opened my mouth, they were going to be impressed.” – Dolores O’Riordan
Dolores O’Riordan described her recollection of the audition to the Morning Call newspaper, “The songs they had at the time were not my taste, but I saw the potential in the playing. It was easy for me because I knew, no matter what their first impression was, that the minute I opened my mouth, they were going to be impressed.”
O’Riordan left the audition with an instrumental track that consisted of four looping chords. She returned a week later with lyrics and melody written to the song, clinching the audition. The song that the group first worked on was “Linger”, one of The Cranberries’ biggest hits.
After hearing “Linger” in its finished form, the band knew they had a different sound. They continued to write more songs with Dolores and Noel forming a songwriting partnership. The band soon turned their attention to recording a demo that they could shop around to record labels.
The band was helped out by local musician Pearse Gilmore who owned a local studio named Xeric which allowed The Cranberries to record their first demo, a four-track EP named Water Circle.
‘Cranberry Saw Us’ Become ‘The Cranberries’
After recording the group’s demo, Noel Hogan quit his job and started sending out the group’s demos to labels and radio stations. It was an employee who worked at Xeric Studios, who provided Hogan with the addresses of record labels.
When one of the demo tapes was sent back to the band, it was addressed to “The Cranberries” and thus the band’s name was changed. The record labels would end up biting at the demo.
Rough Trade Records was the first label to show interest in the group, followed by Virgin, Island and EMI. The band played a showcase at a local university, resulting in reps from those labels flying in from London to watch the performance.
O’Riordan recalled to the LA Times, “We had been together six months and had just six songs to our name, and 32 record company people flew in to see us and we were afraid for our lives.”
The Cranberries Sign with Island Records
The band ended up signing with U2’s label, Island Records. Once the news came, they were soon gaining buzz from the British press throughout the summer and fall of 1991, even though they hadn’t put out their first major label release.
Their first release for Island Records was an EP titled Uncertain. The band soon hit the road playing a number of 3-week long tours across England, supporting a variety of bands including Suede and Duran Duran.
By early 1992, The Cranberries entered Xeric Studios with Pearse Gilmore to record their first full-length record for Island. The initial sessions proved to be unsuccessful and led to Gilmore being fired from the project.
Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can’t We
Pearse Gilmore was replaced by producer Stephen Street. It resulted in their major label debut in 1993, Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can’t We.
The album’s first single, “Dreams” gained traction at college and alternative rock stations and within 3 months of being released as a single, the song showed up on the modern rock tracks chart.
Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can’t We wasn’t initially a huge success in Europe. One year after its release, and the reissue of singles, “Dreams” and “Linger” and the fact that the album became a huge hit in America, it finally went to No. 1 in the UK.
O’Riordan told the LA Times, “It’s very difficult to break in Europe, unless you break in England, and it’s very difficult to break in England if you’re Irish.” The record sold upwards of 6 million copies worldwide.
The Cranberries avoided the sophomore jinx as their follow-up No Need to Argue was a bigger hit than their first record. Noel Hogan credits the band’s live experience as contributing to their heavier sound on their sophomore album.
The demos for their second album were recorded in New York City. One of those songs that Delores brought into those sessions was titled “In Your Head”. Later renamed “Zombie”, it is the biggest song of The Cranberries’ career.
“When we did ‘Zombie’, we realized that you can actually be heavy and still have melody.” – Noel Hogan
Noel Hogan told Forbes his initial thoughts about hearing the demo, “It was a change in direction sound-wise, obviously a lot harder than anything we’ve done.
Dolores brought it in and she was playing it on an acoustic. We started doing what we’d normally do and made it that kind of sweet indie pop thing. It was one of the times where she said, ‘Look, that’s not gonna really work with this. It’s a kind of I’m pissed off song, I’m angry about this, and I think the music should reflect this.’
So she wanted me to play harder on the guitar, and certainly on the drums as well. When we did ‘Zombie’, we realized that you can actually be heavy and still have melody.”
“Zombie” – An Anti-War Anthem
Released as a single from their new album in September of 1994, “Zombie” was an anti-war anthem that took aim at the religious and nationalistic violence in Northern Ireland, also known as “The Troubles”.
By this point in time, the violence in Northern Ireland was relentless and occurring almost on a weekly basis. By the time the song was written, almost 3,500 people had died and tens of thousands were injured in more than 3 decades of conflict.
One incident in particular inspired the creation of the song. On March 20, 1993, explosives hidden under a garbage can in the city of Warrington in Northwestern England, took the lives of a 3 year old and a 12 year old boy and injured dozens of others.
The Cranberries were on tour in the UK when Dolores heard the news. It was something that would stick with her.
Almost 25 years after writing the song, O’Riordon looked back at it, saying, “I remember at the time there were a lot of bombs going off in London and The Troubles were pretty bad.
I remember being on tour and being in the UK at the time when the child died, and just being really sad about it all. These bombs going off in random places. It could have been anyone, you know? So I suppose that’s why I was saying, ‘It’s not me’. Even though I’m Irish, it wasn’t me.”
The Cranberries’ former manager Allen Kovac revealed to Rolling Stone Magazine that Island Records urged The Cranberries not to release the “politically urgent” song as a single. The label offered O’Riordan $1M to work on a different song, but she ripped up the cheque.
“She felt the need to expand beyond, ‘I love you, you love me’ and write about what was happening in Ireland at the time.” – Allen Kovac
Kovac remembered, “Dolores was a very small, fragile person, but very opinionated. Her belief was that she was an international artist and she wanted to break the rest of the world, and ‘Zombie’ was part of that evolution. She felt the need to expand beyond, ‘I love you, you love me’ and write about what was happening in Ireland at the time.”
“Zombie” hit No. 1 on the rock charts in several countries and was certified platinum in Germany and Australia.
The Cranberries performed the song live at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony to honour those who brought a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland. No Need To Argue sold almost 20 million copies on the strength of “Zombie”.
“I experienced a lot of betrayal.” – Dolores O’Riordan
While “Zombie” dealt with politics, other songs on the band’s second album saw the band looking more inwards. Dolores O’Riordan told the Washington Post, “The first album was written when I was younger and just kind of getting into things.
When I was younger, people would manipulate me more. I was a bit too nice for my own good. You can have the greatest voice and the greatest ambitions, but if you don’t know where to tell people to get off. I experienced a lot of betrayal. It’s not a lovey-dovey world at all. A lot of songs were confronting different situations.”
“I’m glad to be married — and that’s one of the reasons — so that I don’t feel exposed anymore that way.” – Dolores O’Riordan
In the mid 90’s, O’Riordan married Duran Duran’s tour manager, Don Burton who soon became The Cranberries’ manager. The marriage offered a feeling of protection for Dolores.
O’Riordan told the LA Times, “The only thing about being a girl and the lead singer and main writer is that you’re the one who the guy tries to fool to get into your pants and that’s happened to me countless amounts of times.
There is a lot of chauvinism in the music industry. I’m glad to be married — and that’s one of the reasons — so that I don’t feel exposed anymore that way.”
To support their second album, the band landed some prime spots playing Woodstock ’94 and performing an MTV Unplugged set, but things were rocky for the band during the tour to promote the album.
The band developed a mistrust of the media. Reports surfaced that infighting was brewing within the band, leading to breakup rumours being published frequently in the press.
O’Riordan sued The Daily Star for claiming she cavorted on stage without underwear during a show in Hamburg, Germany. The newspaper would end up having to issue an apology to Dolores and pay her $15K, which she donated to charity.
Media Rumours Suggest Potential Break-Up of The Cranberries
The Irish tabloids sent photographers to wait outside of O’Riordan’s home, scoring a shot of her and her husband shopping that, when published, resulted in rumours of a potential breakup of the band and suggestion that O’Riordan was having a mental breakdown.
O’Riordan’s feelings for the media were captured in the song “Free to Decide” on their third album.
The Cranberries were scheduled to play a free show in Washington, DC that turned into a disaster. A local radio station sponsored the show with 3,000 people expected to attend, but more than triple that number showed up. There simply weren’t enough police to work the event.
The show started 45 minutes late and the restless crowd started a mosh pit and stage diving. Once the band hit the stage, they only made it through about a song and a half before the organizers and police pulled the plug, resulting in angry fans pelting the police and stage with rocks, food and beer bottles.
The band disappeared from the stage and were quickly driven to the airport.
The band released their third album in 1996, To The Faithful Departed. The album sold 4 million copies worldwide. Inspired by the success of “Zombie”, the band included a few more politically charged songs including “War Child” and “Bosnia”.
“We should have taken a break, but we went back into the studio.” – Dolores O’Riordan
O’ Riordan admitted to Billboard that by 1996, the band was burnt out, “We overworked ourselves and our hearts weren’t in it at all and everyone could see that. We should have taken a break, but we went back into the studio. A lot of people died around that time and the album was really down.”
In just 3 years, the band traveled around the world 3 times, taking no longer than a 6-week break. The strain started to show on tour for the band as O’Riordan had to cancel a number of shows after injuring her knee.
Only 6 months after their third record came out, the entire tour was called off. Reports cited O’Riordan’s health issues as the cause for the cancellation with it coming out that she was dealing with “stress and exhaustion”.
“I wanted to make my own toast in the morning and just call my friend Nora and see what was up.” – Dolores O’Riordan
Following the tour’s cancellation, the band members wouldn’t meet for several months at a time while O’Riordan went into seclusion.
The Orlando Sentinel interviewed O’Riordan in 1999 where she discussed what was going on behind the scenes, “If it wasn’t for my son, we wouldn’t be together at all. I hated singing, I hated being on stage, I hated being in The Cranberries. I was constantly crying.
I wanted to be a shopkeeper, a hairdresser, anything. I was so desperate to have a reality, friends, a regular boring life. I missed that. I wanted to make my own toast in the morning and just call my friend Nora and see what was up. When I got pregnant, I started singing again.”
By the late 90’s, The Cranberries were less focused on album sales and more focused on something more important, happiness. They released their fourth album, Bury The Hatchet in 1999. Bury The Hatchet sold around 2.4 million copies worldwide and it once again went gold in America.
Wake Up and Smell The Coffee
The band’s final release before their long hiatus was 2002’s Wake Up and Smell The Coffee. The album was created by a more mature and happier band whose members were all married and raising families.
O’Riordan gave birth to her second child during the recording of the album and it was that life-changing experience that could be heard on songs including “Never Growing Old” and “Pretty Eyes”.
While the band’s original recording contract was signed with Island Records in 1991, they were transferred to MCA as part of record label mergers and renegotiations. Wake Up and Smell the Coffee was the band’s only release on MCA and while it didn’t chart in the top 40, it still sold over a million copies worldwide.
Despite the lack of album sales, the band was still selling out on tour and bringing in thousands of fans a night. Unhappy with the promotion their latest album had received, the band decided to terminate their relationship with MCA in 2003.
The Cranberries Take a Hiatus
It was reported at the time that The Cranberries would find a new label and put out a new record but by the end of 2003, it was announced the members would take a hiatus and pursue individual music careers and spend more time with family.
During their break, O’Riordan recorded several solo albums, and collaborated with other artists. The Cranberries regrouped in 2009, eventually releasing one of their strongest albums to date, Roses.
“You can’t arrest me — I’m an icon!” – Dolores O’Riordan
By 2012, O’Riordan’s life took a turn for the worse. She was dealing with addiction to pills and alcohol.
Dolores’ marriage was falling apart by 2014 and she was arrested for causing a disturbance on a flight and head-butting a police officer who she reportedly told, “You can’t arrest me — I’m an icon!” She was spared from any jail time, but she would be diagnosed as bi-polar.
Following the dissolution of her marriage, O’Riordan relocated to New York City and started up a new band called D.A.R.K., along with former Smith’s bassist Andy Rourke.
D.A.R.K. would put out their only release in 2016, Science Agrees. According to her bandmates, O’Riordan’s mental health seemed to have improved in her later years. O’Riordan returned to The Cranberries in 2017 with the album Something Else, which was a mixture of older and newer songs that were performed unplugged with an orchestra.
That positivity seemed to follow her into 2018 as she was keeping herself busy with work, looking to record the next D.A.R.K. album with producer Youth, while also working with The Cranberries and planning on recording with Bad Wolves on a cover of “Zombie”.
Dolores O’Riordan Dies By Accidental Drowning
The day before she was scheduled to show up to the studio with Bad Wolves to record her part for “Zombie” she was found dead. In the early hours of January 15, 2018 she left two voicemails for a label executive named Dan Waite, who she knew from the early 2000’s and who had arranged the collaboration with Bad Wolves.
Her messages seemed positive, talking about her children, discussing her new projects she was working on, as well as discussing her enthusiasm for Bad Wolves’ cover. She expressed excitement over rapper Eminem sampling “Zombie” on his song “In Your Head”. She even sang a bit of The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony”.
Sadly, during the morning of January 15, 2018 at 9:16 am, she was found unresponsive in her bathroom. The cause of death was ruled to be an accidental drowning. Prescription drugs were found in her room and when they did the autopsy they were found to be at therapeutic levels in her blood, but her blood alcohol level was quite elevated.
Just 4 days after her passing, Bad Wolves released their cover of “Zombie” as a single where it topped the rock charts for several weeks and had crossover appeal, peaking at No. 54 on the pop charts.
“The whole thing seemed insensitive or something.” – Noel Hogan
While O’Riordan loved the cover that Bad Wolves did of the song, her bandmates didn’t feel the same way.
Speaking with ABC News Radio, Fergal Lawler admitted, “I didn’t really like it. It wasn’t my cup of tea.” Noel Hogan admitted that he thought the cover was released, “A bit too soon. For my liking, anyways. The whole thing seemed insensitive or something.”
Following the death of O’Riordan, Bad Wolves donated $250K of the proceeds from the song to Dolores’ children. The Cranberries posthumously released their final record in April of 2019, several months after Dolores’ death.
The surviving members of the band were able to piece together the demos she had done with the group, prior to her death, over the course of the last year or so. Following the death of O’Riordan, the surviving members of The Cranberries announced they would be disbanding.
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